Laying Laminate wood floor over rough surface brick

[seniorgeezer]

I have a den with a brick floor. The brick does not present a smooth planar surface. It is a little bit like cobblestone.

I want to put down 8mm engineered wood laminate with tongue and grove interconnection.

Can I lay the wood laminate on top of the brick with its somewhat irregular surface? Or must I remove the brick, and lay a subfloor before putting down the wood flooring?

Another way might be to "float" a coat of concrete/mortor over the brick? I am looking for any ideas on the subject.

Thanks,

Bob

[seniorgeezer]

I have a den with a brick floor. The brick does not present a smooth planar surface. It is a little bit like cobblestone.

I want to put down 8mm engineered wood laminate with tongue and grove interconnection.

Can I lay the wood laminate on top of the brick with its somewhat irregular surface? Or must I remove the brick, and lay a subfloor before putting down the wood flooring?

Another way might be to "float" a coat of concrete/mortor over the brick? I am looking for any ideas on the subject.

Thanks,

Bob

[Chita]

Have you considered leveling compound? Some brands say they can level out up to 1/2" thick. Would that be enough? Remember that laminates usually float on a cellular foam material which can smooth out a bit of irregularity too.

You might end up furring the floor, of course. Put numbers into a spreadsheet and see if one method works better than another for your budget.

[Joseph Meehan]

It would depend on how uneven it is. That is uneven over say a 4 foot area.

You might consider using a higher than usual quality cushion or even two layers of the it.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Sounds chancy to me. What does the manufacturer say? I bet they'd ant it smoothed over with something first for best results.

[ameijers]

I gotta ask- how did you end up with a brick floor in a den? Is this a converted porch, or an abandoned summer kitchen, or something? In any post-1920 house, an interior brick floor is unlikely to be real full-size brick, but rather sliced brick tiles, that could be removed like a slate floor. If the space was originally non-heated like a porch or something, it could be dirt under the brick, which might make any wood floor directly over it prone to warping.

Permanently covering a unique feature like that might hurt you at resale. Have you considered a floating floor, say plywood on carved sleepers? If you can live with a higher floor, that might be the least work, be reversible if the next owner wants brick look, and would also allow some possibility of adding wiring as part of project, if needed. (never saw an office that didn't need more outlets for power and data.)

aem sends....